The invention pertains to a urination device of the type used by, for example, bedridden and/or incontinent patients.
It is generally known that male bedridden patients in particular use a urine bottle to urinate in, this bottle being nicknamed the xe2x80x9cduckxe2x80x9d. The bottle has a wide, relatively flat body, with a tubular neck or inlet section which extends upward at a steep angle. Aside from the fact that the rigid, wide body of the bottle is unpleasant to use in terms of temperature and hardness and forces the patient to spread his legs out quite widely, the degree to which it can be filled is not optimal, because, when the bottle is full, its contents reach all the way up into the inlet section, which means that the contents can easily spill out. Even if the bottle is only xc2xe full, it must be pulled back and tipped vertically as it is being removed, because otherwise the contents will slosh out. The long projecting neck can be used as a grip so that the bottle can tipped downward and emptied.
DE 3,238,989 A1 describes a urination device which consists essentially of a relatively long urine line, to one end of which a drainless urine collecting bag is attached. A catheter or an external urine collection device such as a condom-like urine collector for men or a urine collecting funnel for women is connected to the other end. To ensure good flow through the relatively long urine line, a relatively complicated vent system is provided. So that the valveless bag can be emptied, its plug must be removed. Thus the urine which has entered the bag can escape from the device if it is improperly handled. In practice, the device can be used only in a preferably vertical position, that is, while the person is standing. Nor can the device be used more than once; it cannot, for example, be used during the night, set aside horizontally, and used again without spilling the contents.
DE 297-00,124 U1 describes a urine bottle with a hose connector for (any suitable) catheter bag and a hanger. The collecting container is a narrow cylinder, open at the top, which has at the other end a funnel-like shape leading to a hose connector in the center, to which a catheter bag is attached via a connecting hose. This known urination device can be used only while the tube is in a vertical or only slightly tilted position, that is, only while the person is standing or possibly also while sitting, but not lying down.
The xe2x80x9curinalxe2x80x9d described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,306 consists of a relatively long, slender, funnel-shaped collecting body with a wedge-like stand for holding the collector at a slant, e.g., in bed. A long hose, which leads to a urine container, is attached to the narrow outlet end of the funnel. A sample container can also be attached between the funnel and the container. This known urinal is not suitable for independent use by a bedridden patient.
Finally, D 93-17,372.5 U1 describes a urine bottle of the xe2x80x9cduckxe2x80x9d type, that is, with a relatively long, steeply upward-slanting, forward-pointing neck, of the conventional, bulky design. At the bottom distal edge of the bottle, a small drain tube is attached, which is connected to a long hose, which leads to or is inserted in a large collecting container in a low position, e.g., under the bed. This urine bottle is suitable for use only by recumbent male patients with continuous incontinence, for which purpose it is equipped with a very wide bottom support surface. It is not suitable for convenient and reliable use by bedridden patients who are basically healthy but are suffering only from slight incontinence after surgery or for use by healthy individuals who are using the urine bottle during the night, for the sake of convenience, for example. Especially because of its size and the very prominently projecting neck, this bottle, too, is extremely inconvenient to handle and is also unreliable. This bottle cannot be easily carried along on trips without taking up a great deal of space, nor can it be used in a motor vehicle or by handicapped wheelchair users.
The task of the invention is therefore to provide a urination device which is simple, hygienic, and reliable in design and handling, which allows independent reuse by the user himself without intermediate emptying, and which especially can be taken along and used on trips with optimum convenience.
Accordingly, the urination device according to the invention consists of a collecting container, which is designed as an essentially cylindrical, hollow body with two end walls essentially perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. In addition, the collecting container has relatively small dimensions, preferably a diameter of approximately 70 mm and a length of approximately 150 mm. The inlet connector, furthermore, is no more than ⅓ the length of the body of the collecting container and is diagonally opposite the attachment point of the outlet connector, thus being off-center toward the top and tilted by an angle of only about 20xc2x0 to the inlet-side end wall, the upper front edge of the inlet connector projecting no more than slightly in the radial direction beyond the upper edge of the body of the collecting container. As a result, a collecting container is provided which is relatively small and handy, so that it is extremely easy to manage and can be packed and taken along on trips without taking up much room.
Finally, to serve as a holding container, a flat, soft, flexible urine bag, known in and of itself, is connected in an easily attachable and detachable manner to the outlet connector of the collecting container. Thus at least a large percentage of the. urine flows immediately into the urine bag right during the urination process itself; then, by holding onto the collecting container and raising the urination device, it is possible to ensure that virtually all of the rest of the urine will flow into the urine bag, which is provided with an inlet valve. Then the entire urination device can simply be set down on a horizontal surface without fear that even a single drop of urine will spill out or otherwise escape.
It is especially advantageous to provide an easy-to-grasp, upward- projecting positioning nipple at the top edge of the inlet end of the collecting container body, that is, at the edge which is at the top when the device is being used. This has the effect of ensuring that the collecting container and thus the entire urination device are always in the correct position when used, that is, that the inlet connector will be at the top and the outlet connector at the bottom. This guarantees optimal inflow and outflow of the urine and eliminates the danger of spillage.
It is also advantageous to reduce the length of the inlet hose of the urine bag to a length of no more than 10 cm and to push this hose directly onto the outlet connector of the collecting container, this outlet connector being designed as a hose connector with an outside surface which tapers down either conically or in a series of step-like graduations.
Between the outlet connector and the urine bag (or the short inlet hose of the urine bag) it is advantageous to provide a soft, elastic connecting hose, which is itself no more than 10 cm, preferably no more than 5 cm, long. In this case, the inlet hose of the urine bag, which is usually relatively stiff, can be shortened by half again, that is, to approximately 5 cm or less; a hose adapter which is known in and of itself and which is usually one of the standard accessories that come with the bag is pushed onto its free end. The soft, elastic connecting hose attached to the other end of the adapter gives the connecting section between the collecting container and the urine bag a very high degree of flexibility. As a result, the collecting container can be tipped or pivoted slightly toward the urine bag, which is highly advantageous during use and also later, when the urination device is lifted vertically and set aside.
It is especially advantageous for the flow route between the collecting container and the urine bag to have an open cross section of approximately 8 mm all the way along. This ensures that, during urination, virtually all of the urine flowing into the collecting container flows out again immediately through the outlet connector, passes through the hoses, and arrives in the urine bag, so that, when the urination device or the collecting container is removed after urination there is no danger of spillage, because there is hardly any urine left in the collecting container to spill. The small residue which remains can be sent in its entirety to the urine bag simply by raising the collecting container slightly in the vertical direction.
It is also advantageous for the urine bag to have an inlet valve and an outlet valve known in and of themselves and for the outlet valve to be designed as a rotating one-way valve like a water faucet with a transverse handle. As a result, it is guaranteed that the urine from the urine bag will not flow back out through the hoses into the collecting container. The user can therefore be certain that, after he has held the urination device so that it is hanging vertically from the collecting container, all of the urine has run into the urine bag and that it will be unable to flow back out of it, even if he sets the device down horizontally or even upside down. Before the urination device is put to use, furthermore, it is easy to tell from the
position of the actuating cock of the outlet valve whether or not the valve has been properly closed, so that the unwanted escape of urine from the urine bag is reliably prevented.
In addition, the body of the collecting container can be provided with a conically expanding section on the inlet side, or the whole container can taper gently down conically toward the outlet. In addition, the outlet-side end wall of the collecting container can bulge slightly outward to form a funnel, leading in the direction of the outlet connector, which has the effect overall of ensuring the fast and reliable outflow of urine from the collecting container down to the last drop.
In addition, the inlet-side end wall can be given a slant of about 5-10xc2x0, so that the top of the end wall is farther toward the rear; the inlet connector is therefore also set back slightly. This improves convenience even more and also increases in particular the resistance to tipping.
During use, the collecting container of the urination device is held by the supine person at an angle of preferably about 30xc2x0 to the plane of the surface on which he or she is lying or being supported, whereas the connecting hose, the hose adapter, the bag hose, and the urine bag can assume a position between the legs of the user as a linear extension of the collector. The urine bag will thus lie flat on the support surface, and the connecting hose will be curved elastically.
When the urination device is put into service, the collecting container with the urine bag will be put between the legs, with the container toward the front and the bag resting flat on the sheet. The collecting container, provided that it has been set down in the correct position, that is, with the positioning nipple pointing upward, is held in the correct vertical position by the wide, flat urine bag and the very short connecting hoses. The user then grasps the inlet connector and raises the container, for safety""s sake verifying again by checking the nipple, which must be pointing directly upward, that the urination device as a whole is in the correct position. The male member is now inserted into the inlet connector. Because of the slightly slanted position of the container, it is ensured that the urine will flow immediately into the bag. It must, of course, be previously noted or checked that the shut-off cock of the outlet valve on the bag is closed. After the user has finished urinating, the collecting container is pushed back a bit, tilted upward and raised, so that the very last residue of urine flows out of the collecting container and into the urine bag. Then the device is set aside without fear that even a single drop of urine will spill. If the user is suffering from mild incontinence, for example, he can set the urination device down onto a spot within arm""s reach of the bed or hang it from the bed and use it again several times in succession during the course of the night without having to empty it and clean it each time. It can be emptied and cleaned in the morning, when convenient, after getting up.
The use of the urination device according to the invention in a care facility or hospital setting also means that the amount of work required of the personnel, who are usually overburdened, can be significantly reduced. For example, patients who are bedridden after surgery, but who can easily manage the urination device according to the invention by themselves, can be given their own urination device, which they then can proceed to use as needed. The personnel can collect the used urination devices at some point during the work day or as needed and replace them with new ones. Thus the bedridden person is given the security and simultaneously the satisfaction of being able to urinate without having to wait until a care giver responds to the bell and comes hurrying in with a urination duck.
The design can be made even more compact and user-friendly by extending the inlet connector so that it projects into the interior of the collecting container. Thus a much greater length of the inlet connector rests in or on the container. The connector part projecting outward from the end wall on the inlet side can also be shortened, as a result of which a design even more resistant to tipping and even more compact is obtained.
The shape of the inlet connector can be designed to suit either a male user or a female user. For male users, a straight or slightly tilted or backward-slanted end wall is provided on the inlet side. For female users, the end of the connector on the inlet side is designed to project at the top and at the bottom and to have a recess in the intermediate area which curves in the axial direction, conforming to the female anatomy. Thus two different design variants of the collecting container, i.e., a male collecting container and a female collecting container, can be provided.
It is also possible, however, to provide only a single collecting container for both sexes, in which case an inlet adapter is used, which can be designed in different ways.
Thus, a collecting container with a male inlet connector can be used as the base unit. A tubular, female inlet adapter can be pushed into this inlet connector up as far as an axial stop. This inlet adapter has the appropriate female contour at the end which projects out of the inlet connector after it has been pushed in. Thus, a male urination device can be converted quickly and easily into a female urination device. This is especially advantageous when both male and female persons are intended to use the same device, and the convertibility also represents a cost savings.
A highly advantageous embodiment of the invention is obtained when the inlet connector is designed as a very short retaining collar, in or on which a cylindrical, replaceable inlet adapter is mounted. This inlet adapter can be designed in different ways.
Thus, for one container, two inlet adapters can be provided, namely, a female and a male adapter, which can be inserted into the retaining collar as needed. In particular, the male adapter can also be designed in such a way that it is long enough on the insertion side that it extends relatively far into the interior of the container, as a result of which the inlet connector designed in this way acquires a greater insertion length or horizontal support length. Because this inlet adapter can be easily pulled but again, however, after which only the relatively short retaining collar remains, the interior of the container can also be more easily washed or cleaned out than in the case of a permanently attached inlet connector projecting into the interior of the container.
The inlet adapter, however, can also be designed as a dual inlet adapter; that is, one end of the adapter has a male design and the other end a female design. In this way, a single urination device or a single corresponding collecting container can be provided with an adapter of this kind, which can be easily and quickly converted to suit users of different sexes and which in addition makes it possible for the device to be cleaned more easily and more safely. It is obviously advantageous here also to provide a device for locking the adapter onto the container or on its inlet connector or retaining collar. This guarantees that, if the collecting container is picked up only by the adapter, the container cannot fall off before the last residue of urine has drained out into the urine bag. It is also a good idea to provide a positioning device for the adapter also, so that, especially for use by females, the correct orientation can be guaranteed.
It can also be advantageous for the collecting container to be designed in two parts. The inlet-side end wall, with the inlet connector mounted on it, can be designed as a cap, whereas the essentially cylindrical lateral surface of the container with the outlet-side end wall and the outlet connector forms the second part of the container. As a result, a design which is especially easy to clean is obtained, but appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that the cap is attached in a water-tight manner but still in a manner which is quick, easy, and reliable.
The cap can be designed simply as a disk or, like the lid of a can, it can have a short cylindrical rim, which surrounds the inlet side of the cylindrical body to form a seal or is pushed into the interior of the body, simultaneously forming a seal. Any known type of lid attachment method, such as those known for can lids, can be used. But it is also possible to connect the cap by means of a screw joint or a bayonet joint.
The urination device according to the invention can be used not only by incontinent persons who are bedridden in the postoperative state or because of some disease, but also very successfully by people in wheelchairs and even by highly stressed drivers, who either cannot or will not leave their vehicles.
Of course, the urination device according to the invention can also be used for continuously incontinent patients, in which case a support wedge should be provided, which is used to hold the collecting container at an angle of approximately 30xc2x0. In addition, the urine bag in this case should be connected to the collecting container by a hose of appropriate length and set up somewhat lower down than the plane of the bed, so that the continually dripping urine will be able to flow continuously onward into the urine bag. The urine bag can be hung by appropriate devices from the bed frame or laid vertically in an appropriate pocket or basket.